Lingua ex Machina: Reconciling Darwin and Chomsky with the Human Brain by
William Calvin and Derek Bickerton, MIT Press, £16.95, ISBN 0262032732
“NOW, Derek, let me summarise what we said at breakfast and afterwards, when
we walked up to the castle,” says William Calvin, a typical comment from the
somewhat rambling exchange of views that makes up Lingua ex Machina.
Why should Derek and William’s chatter interest us? Perhaps it is the
topic—language—or perhaps it is the novelty of bringing together
these two specialists.
Derek is Derek Bickerton, professor of linguistics at the University of
Hawaii for 24…
